How Notre Dame can get back into the playoff picture

The No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes are the other new team in the College Football Playoff rankings. The top four teams in the final rankings will play in the Playoff Semifinals on December 31, 2015, at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Rounding up the top four are the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Here is the improbable, but possible path to the postseason. They're going to play for the conference championship anyway against North Carolina.

There was a shakeup atop the CFP rankings, with Iowa and Oklahoma crashing the top four to join Alabama and Clemson.

When Michigan State defeated Ohio State this past weekend, the race for the Big Ten title became a jumbled mess. Then again, the humanization of the selection process might benefit them because the committee can take into account the Wolverines' last-second loss to Michigan State. The USC win is a critical point in Notre Dame's schedule and it will be very interesting to see how the Committee views that victory. In the very last rankings, when Baylor's and TCU's schedule were nearly identical, the committee finally honored the head-to-head result and placed Baylor ahead of TCU. Michigan State can clinch the division with a home win over Penn State. After the apparent turmoil following its loss to Michigan State last weekend, Ohio State will enter this Saturday's game as the underdog - something nobody saw coming. No team has had more dramatic finishes this year than the Huskers, so maybe they have one more left in them.

If the Alabama Crimson Tide don't win the SEC title game, there's a good chance the selection committee leaves the conference out this year. Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman said ND will need to beat Stanford and get some serious help to get back in the Playoff. Notre Dame also struggled throughout its game with Boston College at Fenway Park, but wound up with a 19-16 victory. It's pretty simple: Defeat TCU and Texas.

Several analysts, including Stewart Mandel of FoxSports.com, have declared MSU a sure thing if it gets two wins, one over an unbeaten Iowa.

Before taking a look at the rest of the teams in the conversation, remember that this is all under the assumption that the Spartans win this weekend and beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship.

Baylor and Oklahoma State are in a similar boat, with identical resumés. Neither Baylor (10-1) nor the Cowboys (10-1) are likely to trump the Irish.

The question is ultimately this for Notre Dame: will the committee favor a one-loss independent or a one-loss conference champion? Losses by those teams would assure the ascent, however. But it needs a lot more help. Basically, everything that Baylor and Oklahoma State are rooting for, plus a Baylor loss. Florida (10-1, SEC) 13. Clemson will face No. 14 North Carolina in the ACC Championship game in Charlotte on December 5.

Still, Big Ten West champ Iowa (11-0, 7-0) came in No. 4 on Tuesday, and if the Spartans can beat Penn State (7-4, 4-3) on Saturday at Spartan Stadium (3:30 p.m., ESPN), they will win the Big Ten East and advance to play the Hawkeyes in the December 5 Big Ten title game in Indianapolis.

So, the fact that TCU's starting quarterback missed the entire game means nothing? Would closing out the season with wins over Florida State and Ole Miss be enough?

That has Big 12 fans understandably wondering if the league is setup for another fall from No. 3 even if the Sooners take care of business in Stillwater. Last season, the committee liked TCU more than Baylor all season, despite the Bears beating the Horned Frogs in October. Losing to FSU and then beating 'Bama would certainly do the trick. Alabama (10-1) 3. Oklahoma (10-1) 4.

Playoff Outlook: A lock, if - and it's no given - the Tigers win each of their last two games, beginning this week at rival SC and then against the Tar Heels the following week.